Q I have a question that's always been bothering me. Everyone knows that when you have a turbocharged car you're supposed to use synthetic oil and high octane gasoline. Yet I see these old Volvos and Saabs and their drivers are putting regular octane gasoline into their cars and going 200,000-plus miles without any problems! How is this possible? If you use lower octane gas, won't that cause the car to detonate? Do the Swedish know something about cars that we don't? Thanks guys and great magazine!
Todd
Via the Internet
A Have you ever been to Ikea? The Swedes are excellent engineers. Actually, the formula is quite simple. Build a turbo engine with low compression and low boost pressure and retard the timing; it can run reliably on low octane fuel. The car might not be fast, but it should hold together. For those of us who want more power, the formula is higher boost and a more aggressive timing curve. Unfortunately, this requires higher octane to keep things from blowing up.
Q I follow your magazine like a religion, and I'm hoping you guys can help me out. I've got a twin turbo '96 Mitsubishi GTO (or 3000gt, whatever you wanna call it) with a DOHC V6 24v engine and I'm totally in love with it. However, the car has an insane amount of power, which is only helped by the after-cat and cold air intake. It runs at about 350 bhp on the dyno, and I need more control in it. What are some inexpensive ways to get this car back under control? I love the car, but I've been pulled over twice for going "too fast" and I've crashed it twice because it wouldn't turn or stop in time. Some cheap control help would be greatly appreciated. I'll hire you guys a stripper or something. Please?
Brad
Via the Internet
A A stripper? Remember, our address is listed above. If you've crashed twice and keep getting tickets, our best advice would be to attend a high performance driving school. A good driver can make a Kia from Hertz go fast. Unless there is something wrong with your GTO, your problem is not likely to be solved by bolting on some Brembo calipers and a racing suspension. These parts will only cause you to crash at a higher speed. You obviously have a craving to out-drive the car. If you can't afford driving school, find a club that offers open track days (HPDE events) and sign up. Nasaproracing.com and speedventures.com are a couple organizations that offer such events. Once you learn proper driving techniques and the limits of your car, you will not only gain control of the beast, but you'll also become a faster driver. The ticket problem is on you-unless you want to put a speed limiter on your car.
Q Since you guys are "all knowing" when it comes to cars I thought I would ask: Why are the late 80's Toyota Corollas called AE86? I thought that it was only for the '86 year models, but when I was reading the '07 November issue tech questions, the '87 year model was also called the AE86. You guys also said something about an AE92; what's the whole story about the Corollas and what does AE stand for?
Nikolay
Via the Internet
A Thanks for the compliment. Now we can go home to our wives/girlfriends thinking we are "omniscient" only to get kicked to the curb. This is actually a good question. Historically, Toyota designated the Corolla with the chassis code "E." For this reason, any Corolla ever built will have an "E" in its code. The "A" is a code for the engine family (3A, 4A). That's why every Toyota produced with the 4A series engine will have the "A" engine code. For instance, the first generation MR2 (with the 4AGE) is known as the "AW11." The "86" in AE86 does not refer to any specific year. Instead, it signifies the generation of the chassis. For instance, when Toyota switched the Corolla GT-S to a FWD platform in the late 80's, it was called the AE92. It still had the 4A engine "A," was a Corolla "E" and was given the generation code of 92.